Diarmuid and Gráinnes Cave

On the Doneygal side of the Dartry Mountains & at the top of the Gleniff Horseshoe, you can find the highest cave in the whole of Ireland! It’s easy to find as its enormous mouth is visible from across the valley. But unfortunately as of April 2015 any access via the land at the old schoolhouse has been denied by the landowners – bummer. The hike up there was super steep and when you’re up the only way in or out was via an even steeper and very loose scree gully – so it is pretty dangerous.

Apparently there’s a huge chamber at the back, which is accessible via a small tunnel. We didn’t explore this as we weren’t really kitted out for it. Maybe next time.

The wave shaped mountain Benwiskin is next on our list! We didn’t have time to get up there on this visit but report back when we manage it.

Benbulben

Next on the list (in the same day as the cave) was Ben Bulben! We took the casual route on the Sligo side, which is a nice and easy walk to the top (526M high). Parking is minimal, be sure not to block any roads as farmers need to get up and down the lanes with wide machinery. A short bridleway gets you heading in the right direction, after this its just a case of zig-zagging your way to the top. When you’re up there (mind out for boggy pools on top) its strangely vast and pretty flat, as you’d expect, so head over to the coastal ridge and soak up the scenery which on a good day will reveal a view of five counties!

Glencar

If you’re in the area, a trip to Glencar is literally just down the road from Ben Bulben and well worth a peek. The Glencar Lake is quite a beautiful site with a few gems like the Glencar waterfall (obviously) but also ‘Shroid in aigh an árd’ (also called Devils Chimney) which is Irelands tallest waterfall! If you’re here in the winter when its wet and windy and the wind is blowing strongly from the south west it can blow the waterfall up in such a way that it looks like a roosters tail. With really strong wind it can even blow the waterfall back up across the mountains edge. Just round the corner from here is a the old bog road, if you go for a wander up here (better not to drive as it’s super sketchy often with fallen trees, cycle or walk) you can get up on to the top which will give you a cracking view of the whole lake and valley.

Cairns

For extra history points if you’re at all curious about having seen any of these on your travels (picture below) Sligo county is littered with lots of these megalithic tombs that date back as far as 3700BC!! This one is at Carrowmore near Strand Hill an Knocknarea.